Flip-flop could be costly for Billy

DONOVAN'S DECISION: MAGIC VS. GATORS - NBA Aspirations

If Billy Donovan breaks his contract with the Orlando Magic, don't expect him to show up with another NBA franchise anytime soon.

It could be several years.

Among the provisions in a legal breakup could be a clause that would prohibit him from coaching another team in the NBA for the length of the contract he is breaking.

And even if there isn't, his waffling over the five-year, $27.5-million contract with the Magic might taint him at least for the near future.

Two NBA executives from different teams in the Western Conference, who both asked their names not be used, offered different views Monday.

"It's not going to leave a good taste in the mouths of a lot of people," said one executive. "People in the league already were asking last week, `What did he do to deserve a contract like that?' And now this; it really casts a doubt about his intentions."

Although Donovan for years has said the idea of coaching in the league "intrigued" him, he is unlikely to be as hot a commodity again in the coaching ranks as was last week. He is coming off back-to-back NCAA titles but now facing a rebuilding process with five new starters at the University of Florida.

"I wouldn't rule out anything in sports today. This doesn't kill him. There always are good players people say they wouldn't touch for whatever reason. But there only has to be one team that likes him again," said another executive. "People know he's not a bad guy. He's a young guy [42] who looks younger than he is. People will just say he got caught up in the moment."

Jeff Van Gundy and Rick Pitino, two of those in the coaching profession closest to Donovan, both advised Donovan to take the Magic's original offer, which made his change of heart even more puzzling.

At the news conference last week announcing him as the new Magic coach, Donovan sounded confident about breaking the trend in which well-hyped college coaches without NBA coaching experience struggled to win in the NBA.

"It just makes you wonder if he was as confident as he sounded that he could make the transition," said one executive. "It's just hard to explain why he changed his mind.''